


Vicissitude

by Anonymous



Category: Tokyo Babylon, X -エックス- | X/1999
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fix It Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-18
Updated: 2014-09-18
Packaged: 2018-02-17 21:29:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2323781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Subaru and Seishirou do not meet until 1999, where things are very different for both of them, and the events that unfold are affected more deeply than they could know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Vicissitude

**Author's Note:**

> Seishirou/Subaru centric. Hokuto is alive because yes. Many canon elements changed. If you find any inconsistencies please tell me. It’s been many years since I was in the fandom and I left just after the anime aired so there are surely plenty of inconsistencies or new facts I’m unaware of. If I’ve made any glaring errors, just pop me a comment to tell me!

Destiny had picked its moment.

A train platform at Ikebukuro.

A shikigami.

A misplaced step.

It waited, because it knew what was to come, knew that the Sumeragi would trip over his own feet. It knew that the Sakurazukamori would briefly look up at the commotion and realise the Sumeragi was his prey. That a series of events would be set into motion leading a trail of blood and cherry blossom petals all the way to the Final Day.

But as Destiny sat, poised like a cat ready to catch a particularly tasty bird, something changed.

The ripples rolled through time. A Wish so strong that Destiny paused, reacted, _changed_.

_Subaru… you said not everyone can be happy… but my Wish… My Wish…_

_I want another chance for everyone_. _A chance for them to be happy._

And Destiny passed over the Sumeragi. His boots missed the small crack in the platform, landing sure and true. This meeting abandoned in favour of another. For a chance that a Wish might be granted. It warped and twisted and snapped into place.

There were some things that could not be changed. The Sumeragi and the Sakurazukamori would always meet, would always fight, would stand on Rainbow Bridge at the End of Days and discover new truths from each other.

But they would not meet here, not now.

The Sumeragi disappeared from view as the Sakurazukamori lowered his paper. He boarded a train, never knowing how close he’d come to enacting his design, never knowing how close he came to a world where he spent a year attempting to love and then killed off the hope of love ever existing again in his world.

The train left the station and Destiny waited. There was time.

* * *

 

“Subaru-san, have you felt the call?” Lady Sumeragi said. Subaru sat, gloved hands clenched in loose fists on his thighs. Beside him, Hokuto was looking between them, green eyes bright with worry.

He’d known the day was coming, of course, ever since he’d officially taken the position of Head of the Sumeragi Clan. He’d felt the shift, the way his powers had sparked and grown, the way that his dreams were permeated with the fog and cherry blossoms and scent of blood. His sleep and been restless of late, though he wasn’t sure if it was Battle that called to him or if he’d just been overworking.

“I have,” he acknowledged. Hokuto let out a long, slow breath, as though she’d been holding it. He wanted to turn to her, to reassure her, but there was nothing he could say to change the fact that soon he would be in danger.

“Since you’ve returned to Kyoto, you’ve grown in spiritual power and moral strength,” Lady Sumeragi said. Subaru felt a swell of pride in his chest but his grandmother continued gravely. “Even so, this battle will be like no other. The Final Days are upon us and you will have to face…”

Here she paused. She looked on the verge of saying something. Her lip trembled. Subaru frowned slightly, but then Lady Sumeragi’s expression cleared. Her eyes back to their normal steely determination.

“You and Hokuto-chan will move to Tokyo permanently starting from tomorrow. I know that last time it didn’t work out, with that nasty business with the transplant patient,“ Lady Sumeragi’s voice grew even sterner and Subaru felt a twinge in his side from where the scalpel had sliced him open, Yuuya’s mother screaming and dead eyed. Yes, that had been the final straw for his grandmother and he’d been called back to Kyoto while he recovered.

From that point on he’d stayed, allowing other omnyouji to cover Tokyo while he focused on training his powers and official Clan business.

“I will be sending Hokuto-chan with you to make sure you are cared for in my absence but also to allow her to make preparations for her wedding,” Lady Sumeragi’s lips tweaked upwards a little in the corners. Subaru couldn’t help but smile too, turning to Hokuto and catching her eye.

Hokuto beamed back. She had never quite said where she met Kazuki Kakyou, only that she had met him when he felt all hope was lost. Together they had worked on Kakyou’s problems and slowly, Hokuto had fallen in love. Subaru had never met Kakyou, nor seen a picture, but his grandmother had researched the family extensively. There was omnyojitsu in the family line, and it was not a dishonourable match.

Subaru supposed his grandmother would have been happy that Hokuto didn’t come back from Tokyo with someone unsuitable… or a woman instead. Subaru was pretty sure that Hokuto’s tastes lay that way occasionally.

“A wedding at the End of the World, ‘neechan?” Subaru teased. Hokuto hit him lightly on the arm. At 25, he was taller and bigger than she was, adolescence having changed their features from the almost identical twins they had been at 16 to less androgynous adults. Her light slap barely stung.

“It is no laughing matter, Subaru-san,” Lady Sumeragi reminded him. Subaru sobered instantly and turned back to her, chastised. “You will travel by shinkansen in the morning at first light. Once there, I’m sure you’ll be able to find the other Dragons of Heaven with the Dreamseer, Hinoto-hime.”

Subaru nodded and clenched his fists tighter. Beneath the gloves, the backs of his hands were hot, like the aftermath of a bad burn. In his mind he could feel the siren song of Tokyo and when he closed his eyes he sometimes caught flashes of the one they called ‘Kamui’.

“C’mon Subaru, let’s pack,” Hokuto said, shuffling to her feet. He watched her stand. She was so close to her dream of becoming a housewife. Lately she’d toned down her fashion sense, wearing kimono more and more as she prepared to leave the Sumeragi household forever. Still fashionable, but not as outrageous. Well, unless you counted the colour combinations, which were sometimes too bright to be looked at without the aid of sunglasses.

Subaru stood. He bowed to his grandmother and then followed Hokuto out of the room as she prattled about how _expensive_ it was going to be to find a last minute apartment in Tokyo.

Subaru said nothing.

His hands _burned_.

* * *

 

Seishirou lit a cigarette. The smoke curled around the bows of the Sakura. He could feel it. The End was approaching. He felt little in relation to it. Things ended all the time, one person, a family, a city, an entire world, it was no different to him than the breaking of a cup.

There was still time left though. He could feel that the Kamui hadn’t made his choice yet. Seishirou was patient enough to wait.

It didn’t cure the distinct boredom he felt though. Boredom was perhaps the worst thing about humanity.

The smoke curled up into the night sky, the circadas screeched loudly, the noise of Tokyo bustled on around him.

He flicked the cigarette butt away, walking away from the Sakura, bidding it a soft farewell as he walked through Ueno Park towards the station. Around him life continued, people pushed against him in the train station at Ueno. Tourists packed into the trains, more getting in at Akihabara, their arms laden with material goods that held more worth to them than the other people on the train.

Humanity was petty that way, Seishirou supposed.

He watched as the train filled and emptied, filled and emptied, until he finally arrived at Shinjuku Station. He was jostled on his way off the train, but ignored it. Like mosquitos, the people around him were irritating, but of no consequence.

He reached into his pocket for his handkerchief, wiping away stray ash from his jacket sleeve as he debated getting something to eat in the station or cooking for himself when he got home. It was then that he became aware.

“We’re completely lost,” a deep voice said, sighing exasperatedly. “’Nee-chan I thought you knew your way around Shinjuku Station!” It came from out of sight and Seishirou found his feet taking him towards it.

He could feel it, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. The traces of his own magic, deeply ingrained in the man he could not quite see. He walked around the pillar obscuring his view and saw him. Tall, maybe not as tall as the Sakurazukamori, but tall enough. His slender torso was covered by a simple T-shirt and his long legs were clad in tight fitting jeans. An overcoat in a garish shade of red that stopped at the waistband of his jeans.

Despite the pleasant spring temperatures, the man was wearing black gloves.

Seishirou realised he wouldn’t be bored while he waited for Kamui to make his decision.

“I’m _sure_ that Kakyou said to meet him here! I don’t know why he hasn’t shown up!”

Seishirou took in the other person. Shorter, longer hair, and a striking resemblance. A sibling, possibly even a twin sister. She was wearing something a bit more outlandish, a bright red furisode that almost hurt to look at.

Seishirou could sense, even though the gloves the man was wearing, his own magic at work. All those years ago, he’d made that Bet. He’d thought of it sometimes since, usually in passing and without any real commitment to investigating his motives. Now he saw the creature that little boy had become and a dark smile stretched across his lips.

A Battle for the End of the World and a Bet to win on top.

Seishirou couldn’t wait to get started.

*

Subaru tried to hold down his annoyance. He wasn’t annoyed at Hokuto. Not really. He was just annoyed at the situation in general. He didn’t want to fight in this Battle, but he knew he’d have to. He knew that there was the possibility that he would have to commit murder, to kill a Dragon of Earth just because their viewpoints didn’t collide. It didn’t sit well with him.

And now they were lost, in perhaps the most confusing train station in Tokyo, and Hokuto’s missing fiancé hadn’t even shown up to meet them.

“I’m sure he was just held up in traffic or something!” Hokuto reasoned, her smile fixed on her face. Subaru sighed and looked around hopelessly at the signs again. He knew that their rented apartment was somewhere nearby but _where_ exactly was beyond him. Which exit did he even take to get to it?

“Ah… Can I help you? You look lost?”

Subaru turned and saw the unassuming face of their helper. A man in his thirties. He wore glasses and had a long coat bundled over his arm. He was tall and, Subaru couldn’t help but notice, rather handsome. He forced that thought down and _away_ before he could take root in his mind.

“Oh! Yes! We’re trying to get to Hatsudai!” Hokuto volunteered the information. The man nodded and stepped forward. Subaru was acutely aware that the man was in his personal space as the other leaned over the map in Hokuto’s hands.

“You need to take this exit but… well… It’ll be a bit of a walk from here. And with you looking so beautiful in your kimono too!” the man chuckled. Hokuto beamed at him. Subaru felt distinctly uncomfortable. “It may be easier for me to take you there.”

Subaru studied the man. He couldn’t sense any malicious intent, but the backs of his hands itched terribly and something was… off. Something he was sure he wasn’t quite picking up on. Like a smell that lingered underneath the surface, but Subaru couldn’t place it.

“We wouldn’t want to inconvenience you,” Subaru said softly, keeping his tone polite and measured. The man turned to him and for a moment it seemed that the man was evaluating him, before his eyes were hidden behind a smile.

“Oh it’s no inconvenience. I live in the area anyway and was just thinking to myself how lonely it was going to be to return straight home tonight,” the man reassured him. Hokuto’s eyes took on a glint and Subaru knew that he wasn’t going to be allowed to raise any more concerns, legitimate or not.

“That settles it then! We’re going to let you walk us home! How lucky we found such a gentleman on our first night in Tokyo, eh Subaru?” Hokuto said, her laughter tinkling through the station. Subaru nodded and then turned to the man, bowing low.

“I’m sorry to inconvenience you,” he said formally. The man shook his head.

“Really, really, you’re not inconveniencing me at all. But Shinjuku Station is hardly the place for lengthy conversations or formal introductions. Do you have any bags with you?” he asked. Subaru shook his head mutely.

“We sent them on ahead,” Hokuto replied for him. The man smiled and nodded.

“Well then, on the way I will show you the best izakaya in Shinjuku. You must be hungry if you’ve just got off the train,” he continued to prattle on as Hokuto continued to humour him. Subaru followed along behind, trying to shake off the distinct feeling that something was _wrong_.

* * *

 

Destiny reclaimed its moment.

Not a train platform at Ikebukuro.

No shikigami.

No misplaced steps.

Instead in a bustling crowd at Shinjuku Station, where the Sumeragi was on guard for the Final Days and the Sakurazuka was bored enough to consider the possibility of feeling something, anything, before their time ended.

The Final Day was coming and there was no Wish in the world that was strong enough to change _that_. There were some things that could not be changed. The Sumeragi and the Sakurazukamori would always meet, would always fight, would stand on Rainbow Bridge at the End of Days and discover new truths from each other.

But it had happened differently this time.

The Sumeragi and Sakurazukamori disappeared from view as the chimes of Destiny began to toll.


End file.
